Presentation

Regarding the name, according to the transcript of
official
documents from this illegal organization, its Political Commission
decided on March 1, 1982 to stop naming the group PSR-ML-MIR-EM (for the
union of these two orgnizations: PSR-ML and MIR-EM), and start to call it
Movimiento Revolucionario Tupac Amaru — the name
was to be kept secret until they could rise up in arms).

MIR-EM stands for MIR-El Militante, whereas MIR is an acronym
that stands for Movimiento Independiente Revolucionario (Inependent
Revolutionary Movement), in common use among leftist organizations in
Latin America during the 1960’s and 1970’s. The official
existence of the M.R.T.A is 1984 to 1996.

Tupac Amaru II

Tupac Amaru (real name José Condorcanqui) was born in Cuzco in
1741, and after some years declared himself an Inca descendent
(which is unsure). He assembled a number of partisans, and started
a revolt in Tungasuca on 6 November 1780. The attack on Cuzco was a
failure and he was capturated by the spanish army and executed in
Cuzco on 18 May 1782. The Quechua people
remember today the just cause of Tupac Amaru and a marxist indigenous
movement established in 1984 took his name. The militant people
were named "emerretistas", and started the armed strugle in
1987 in the Amazonian Forest.Jaume Ollé, 08 Dec 1996

Tupac Amaru’s full name was José Gabriel Condorcanqui Noguera (see
biography in Spanish
Wikipedia); he was actually killed in May, 1781 where he was put to death
by being drawn and quartered (based on
this
XVIIth century transcript, pages 5-7).Esteban Rivera, 09 Jan 2006

Tupac Amaru II claimed to be the descendant
of Tupac Amaru I, one of the last Inca emperors. In the popular Peruvian
imaginative world, Tupac Amaru II represents rebellion and resistance to
invasion. However, Tupac Amaru II has always been given a secondary role
in the history of the country, dominated by a minority of European origin.
Tupac Amaru II reappeared in the 70;’s, put forward by the progressist
members of the military regime (with socialist tendencies) of general Juan
Velasco (1968-1975). In the government palace, a picture of the Spanish
conquistador Francisco Pizarro was replaced by one of Tupac Amaru II, in
order to highlight the Inca past of Peru. Since then, several streets in
the popular sections of Lima, the capital of Peru, have been named after
Tupac Amaru. That name does not appear in the richest sections of the city,
including San Isidro, where the Japanese embassy is located.Ivan Sache, 08 Dec 2000

Flag description

This flag was prominently hung from the windows and railings of the
Japanese Embassy in in Lima, taken over by MRTA on 17 December 1996.
The flag is a tricolor, the design long associated
with revolutionary change and independence. The two outer bands are red,
which is the colour traditionally associated with
Marxism and socialist revolution.David Cohen, 11 Mar 1997

On the central white band are the letters "MRTA" - the
Spanish-language acronym for the group. The head on the flag
depicts Tupac Amaru. The stylised V below is
formed by a star and a gun — the gun symbolising Tupac
Amaru’s belief in armed struggle to acheive their objectives.
The V stands for the word Venceremos — Spanish for
"We shall win!" — Tupac Amaru’s slogan is
«Con las masas y las armas, Patria o muerte…
¡venceremos!»David Cohen, 11 Mar 1997

The flag can be seen
here
(although in very small size); The emblem can be found
here
(big size).Esteban Rivera, 09 Jan 2006

Flag variations

I know three flags used by the movement:

Vertical white and red with the letters MRTA in
black in the center.

Horizontal red over white with the letters MRTA
in black in the centre of the white stripe

Peru national flag pattern with the letters MRTA
(in black) on the central band, and above an image (white/black) of
the head and half body (since below of the chest) of Tupac Amaru; in
the left of this image one arrow with double point; and in the right
side an automatic rifle (similar to a Kalashnikov AK47).